The Celtics have proven to be the better team in the first five games of the NBA Finals, but Kobe Bryant has proven to be the best player.
Win or lose, Bryant deserves to be named the NBA Finals MVP.
A player on the losing team has won the award only once. Laker Jerry West did so in 1969 (the award’s inaugural year) even though L.A. lost to the Celtics in seven games. It seems fitting that the new Lakers’ scoring leader would hold the same honor more than 40 years later.
Bryant has led all scorers in four out of the five games while also leading the Lakers in assists four times. He’s averaging 30.2 points, 4.4 assists and 6.0 rebounds a game against Boston.
Though his field goal percentage (42.5) is below his career average (45.5), he’s made 35-out-of-38 free throws and connected on 37.8 percent of 3-pointers.
The argument for Bryant winning MVP is as much about his impressive play as the inconsistent performances by the Celtics’ stars.
Leading scorer Paul Pierce is Boston’s best MVP candidate, averaging 19 points per game (more than 10 less than Bryant). Pierce has resembled his 2008 Finals MVP form the past two games, but was nonexistent in Game 2 — shooting 2-for-11 from the field — and battled foul trouble throughout Game 3.
Pierce’s 27 points led the Celtics to victory in Game 5. But Boston’s Shrek and Donkey bench tandem (Glen Davis and Nate Robinson) spurred Boston’s Game 4 win. And Game 2 went Boston’s way because of Ray Allen‘s barrage of 3-pointers and Rajon Rondo‘s triple-double.
Bryant’s winning of the award in a losing effort would be a testament to the rarity of this team-oriented Boston squad. They have three possible Hall of Famers (all past their prime), an emerging All-Star point guard and hard-nosed bench players. It is an unusual championship-caliber group that seems to have everything … except an MVP.
